Work shouldn't be your everything

That balance between our work and personal lives is difficult to strike even in normal times. But now the home has become the office for millions of Americans, and working hours bleed into personal hours in ways that, a year into the pandemic, many of us are still struggling with. So it’s more important than ever not to tie your entire identity — and, in particular, your life satisfaction — to the thing you do for money, experts said. “Work life, generally speaking, you ride a roller coaster,” said Art Markman a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, and the author of the book “Bring Your Brain to Work.” “Not every day is a good day, there are projects you work on that don’t always go well, and if you’re doing anything interesting that has to be the case.” “If everything you have going on in your life is focused on work, it means your entire life rides the roller coaster,” he said. More for tips on resetting those boundaries read, on in The New York Times:

The line between our personal lives and our work lives has all but disappeared. Make the effort to redraw it.

I'm not so sure I agree with this... Do we try to not define work as who we are? Or do we try to find work that fits who we are? Every human being has causes. These causes are what drives them. For some, it's all about the money. But for many people, the causes are greater. Today's workforce seeks work with meaning and purpose. They seek to choose an organization whose causes are in line and consistent with theirs and allow them to pursue their own goals. (whether it be in the workplace or outside.) Lines are blurred now more than ever between work and life, and making the balance that much more impossible. Instead of running away from it, how can we find a way to embrace it? What do you think? #causes #work #career #worklifebalance #meaningful #meaningfulwork https://lnkd.in/e6EQGzZ

Draw the lines, set boundaries, don’t ask for permission: thanks Brenna Ruiz-Gordon for sharing this article #mentalhealth https://lnkd.in/gSbBTbm

I read this article by Tim Herrera in The New York Times and felt chills. When I entered the workforce, my first day on the job ended up being an all-nighter. We worked hard - long nights, weekends, whatever it took. Advertising or creativity "on-demand" demanded more than 40 hours a week. And, sadly, a certain bravado came with that. A perverse pride in working that much. Pride in feeling that we had whatever it took. Pride in our work identities spilling over into our personal identities. But as Alison Green, author of Ask A Manager, writes, "The problem with having your identity tied up with your #job is that it’s not fully within your control. If things start going badly at #work, it can affect your #mentalhealth in ways that it wouldn’t if you weren’t so deeply invested. So it’s giving work a lot of power over your happiness in ways that can end up hurting you.” For most people, working from home has blurred the lines between our personal and #professional lives. This #article has tips on healthy compartmentalization, ways for all of us to remember that what we do is not who we are. . https://nyti.ms/3tHlqow #workfromhome #worklifebalance #worklifesuccess #worklifeharmony #leadership #covid19

That balance between our work and personal lives is difficult to strike even in normal times. But now the home has become the office for millions of Americans, and working hours bleed into personal hours in ways that, a year into the pandemic, many of us are still struggling with. So it’s more important than ever not to tie your entire identity — and, in particular, your life satisfaction — to the thing you do for money, experts said. “Work life, generally speaking, you ride a roller coaster,” said Art Markman a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, and the author of the book “Bring Your Brain to Work.” “Not every day is a good day, there are projects you work on that don’t always go well, and if you’re doing anything interesting that has to be the case.” “If everything you have going on in your life is focused on work, it means your entire life rides the roller coaster,” he said. More for tips on resetting those boundaries read, on in The New York Times:

This article hits home- creating a boundary between personal and professional life while we're working from our homes is not an easy feat but has proven to be incredibly important for mental health. Your job does not need to define you, even though it may feel like you are always "at the office" these days. https://lnkd.in/eSnhPdB

“The problem with having your identity tied up with your job is that it’s not fully within your control [...] centering your life on a job may even make you act against your own self-interest and happiness, perhaps by working long hours or accepting behavior you normally wouldn’t.” This was a great read and that excerpt is one part that really stuck out to me. As hard-working professionals, we invest extensive time, energy, and effort into our jobs and strengthening the corporate brands of the companies we work for, however, we tend to lack the same intention for investing in our own brands––our personal brands. When we take the time to invest in curating and molding our own brands as we desire, this allows us to hop in the driver seat and take full control of our own narrative and professional identity. It is not solely dictated by our jobs. This is one of the reasons I created FAME Focus; to help FAME (fashion, arts, media, and entertainment) professionals cultivate and strengthen their professional presence and identities online. #careers #professionals #personalbrand #branding #famefocus

I got to contribute some advice to this column about why your identity shouldn't be organized completely around your work. https://lnkd.in/eVfMsni

The line between our personal lives and our work lives has all but disappeared. Make the effort to redraw it.